CPU usage

from Stardock Forums

Windowblinds 7

Windows 7 x64 Ultimate

AMD Athlon Dual Core Processors

 

Today I noticed that CPU usage was running at about 50% even when I wasn't actually doing anything. It turned out this was Windows Explorer basically using one entire processor to do nothing that was apparent. I let it run for over an hour just in case it ran itself out, but it didn't, it just kept chugging along. Eventually I narrowed the cause down to Windowblinds. That is, if I unloaded WB CPU usage returned to normal, when I reloaded it, CPU usage soared back up again. Rebooting made no difference, the CPU rate instantly returned to 50%. In the end I uninstalled WB and re-installed it, which did the trick........so far.

 

I thought it worth posting in case someone else has the same problem, but it would be nice to know what's causing this, whether it's likely to return and if it can be fixed. I certainly don't want to have to keep re-installing WB.

windowblinds
6,822 views 3 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top

More than likely, something went wrong with the initial download and it messed things up. The reinstall was probably the right thing to do. I have been using Windowblinds for a while and have never had a CPU usage problem.

Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top

The problem has returned and I've narrowed down the cause. There's some kind of conflict with the Second Life Emerald viewer - not the regular viewer which seems ok but the 3rd party Emerald one.

The problem starts when Emerald is fired up and WB is running. But after that the problem continues even when emerald is shut down. The only way to stop it is to unload WB, though as I said before it returns as soon as WB is loaded again. Re-installing WB only cures the problem until Emerald is started once again.

This is a real problem for me because I use both applications all the time and don't want to discard either of them.

btw, running them alternately doesn't help either.

Ashes of the Singularity II
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top

Does this Emerald viewer have a .exe associated with it?  If so, have you tried adding an exclusion in WindowBlinds for it?